94 moons have passed

(thank you jess for inspiring me on this post title)

well y'all. i did it. after 8 years, i've graduated from college. technically only 6 years cause of my mission.

i don't know exactly how i feel. yesterday and today has been great because i don't have the feeling of deadlines on my shoulders.

but guess what? if you haven't heard, i will be interning at GREY in New York City! and i'll be shadowing the account supervisor over their COVER GIRL account! how rad!? it'll be a whole new ball game working with such a largely known client and at an agency where the positions are set up a little differently than i'm used to and where people really know what they are doing.

i'm really excited because i never thought i was capable of having an experience like this! i've always kinda told myself i would be ok just living in salt lake city til i found something a little better. the way i got this internship was pretty remarkable.

first off, i was selected by a faculty member to apply for an advertising minority award. i had 2 days to put together all the paper work! i was then selected as a finalist with an all expense paid trip to new york for the Most Promising Minority Students conference and banquet. i went with 5 other students from my program. there were 55 students from across the nation there in total. we toured at different agencies in the city, attended a recruiter's fair, had several networking workshops, and were recognized at a big luncheon/banquet. at the recruiter's fair, i handed out several resumes and portfolios to agency recruiters. i then interviewed with Leo Burnett and Ogilvy! i had met the recruiter from Leo Burnett just a couple weeks prior at our BYU career fair. she was looking forward to meeting with me again. it was also there that i spoke very briefly with a recruiter from Grey.

it wasn't until mid march that i heard from that same recruiter and she wanted to interview with me! it came as a surprise because i kinda forgot about meeting them, but i remembered that they had great clients and work. it was a phone interview and it was great! very conversational and i could tell she wasn't just reading pre-determined questions. 3 weeks later - she called with an offer!

i told her i was super excited, but i wanted to have the weekend to think about it. other options i had for the summer were the nauvoo pageant, leo burnett, ogilvy, sundance doing seven brides, efy, people water, or richter 7. by the time i found out about grey i found out i hadn't gotten ogilvy, the nauvoo pageant, and efy. but i had just set up an interview with richter 7 for the following tuesday. i followed up with leo and didn't get it. and richter suggested i take grey and contact them if i came back to utah.

so i accepted! i'm excited to see friends on the east coast i haven't seen in forever! but i'm also sad to leave the new friends that i've met this year. it's a bitter sweet.

back to graduation (now that it's a week later) - i feel great! it's a big accomplishment for my family because i am the first in my immediate family to graduate from college on schedule (kinda). my mom is just now starting school cause she didn't go to college in the philippines. and my dad graduated when he was in his 40's. he began the military at a young age. and my brother hasn't finished school yet; jumped right into working. so it was a neat milestone for my family.

i am grateful that i switched majors. even though it took me longer, advertising has brought on so many more exciting opportunities that if i had stuck with dance. and i know that i will always be able to dance without having a degree. at the least the direction that i want to take with dance. i have competed in two national advertising competitions, i was selected to go to new york for a minorities advertising conference, and i have an internship in a month in new york with the 7th largest advertising agency working on one of the the largest cosmetics brands, CoverGirl. so much better than teaching in utah my whole life.

i am grateful for the musicals that i was able to perform in at BYU. because of the directors and choreographers i worked with, it provided me performing jobs in theaters outside of BYU. i'm glad that i've been able to develop musical theater skills while receiving an advertising education. i felt balance and enjoyment in both fields. and the other performers in each of the shows have been a blast to work with. there were always a select few though, in each show, that i know i needed to meet. to them i am so grateful for their acceptance of me and my imperfections and taking a chance to get to know me.

i can't forget to mention how grateful i am for the opportunity to serve in BYUSA for 2 1/2 years. with what i thought was just a volunteer position to help me gain experience in advertising provided me with an enriching experience with students and faculty that could not have recreated by any other organization. it's sad to think that students don't understand or appreciate what BYUSA is or does. i am grateful for the other students examples that gave me confidence in the goodness and many benefits of the organization. it's in BYUSA that i found the people i connect best with; those who are selfless and non-judgemental in every way. i found some of my greatest friends in BYUSA. i grew intellectually, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally every day that i served. and even though i didn't serve in BYUSA this past year, i still felt connected to the student leaders and i was able to be part of the 2012 student body elections. congrats brandon and jessica!

i did a lot in my undergrad, and i don't regret anything! and there really wasn't enough time for me to do everything that i wanted, but i think what's most important is that i met the people i've needed to meet. looking back at it all, timing was perfect. i needed to go on a mission. i needed to go to BYU. i learned what i needed to learn. cried over what i needed to cry about and joyed in the most joyous things.

thank you to my family who supported me along way, even though my steps weren't what they expected for me. i've turned out ok.

hello new york!